whatever makes you happy
by recklesslouise
Summary: Inoue finally got together with Ichigo. And then Rukia comes back from soul society. What now?
1. Chapter 1

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She tries to look her best everyday for her boyfriend. The praises and comments of her friends and classmates didn't really mean anything to her before, until Ichigo became her boyfriend. Whenever they look at her with admiration she kept hoping that he'll realize what a beautiful girlfriend he has. Admired by the boys, envied by the girls. But the only opinion that really matters seemed indifferent to it. But still, she never once felt that she has to leave his side… until she came back.

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After the Winter War when peace was established at Karakura, soul society pulled out all the shinigamis in the area except for the one that was assigned to slay the few weak hollows that occasionally show up. "Karakura town is populated by high density of spiritual powers just from humans alone, shinigamis being there would do more harm than good." , is what the soutaichou declared when he commanded the slayers to move back to soul society.

The reason was sensible enough, but it seemed that it wasn't to Ichigo who looked like an empty shell going on autopilot after Rukia left. And it pained Orihime to see Ichigo like that.

"I was so naïve brother, I was so jealous of Kuchiki-chan when she was here. I thought it would hurt me to see them together. I never thought it would hurt me so much more to see him apart from her. I'm a witch." Is what Inoue cried to her brother's altar.

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Day after day she would try to cheer up Ichigo while being careful not hurt his pride, without caring about hers. By then, it was pretty clear to everybody how she felt about Ichigo. Ichigo probably noticed too at that time, even a blind man probably would. She even visit him on weekends and help out at the clinic. She learned to cook and restrained her taste for food whenever she's making a bento, and bringing food at the Kurosaki house for her visits and they actually like her cooking. Yuzu and Karin both looked up to her, and Isshin adored her.

One night before heading home from her visit, Ichigo stopped her on her way out of the clinic.

"Inoue? Why?"

Although a long silence followed Ichigo's question, they both know what the question was about.

"Because you are my love her right?"

Ichigo made a fake chuckle "W-What are you talking about In-"

"I know, Kurosaki-kun, I am always watching you. I don't want to see you like this. You're still alive, you still have your family… and your friends. You have unlimited talent to have fun in this life Kurosaki-kun."

Unable to hold back her emotions, Inoue sobbed. "Don't waste… what's.. in front.. of you."

Ichigo is shocked. Now that Inoue is actually admitting her feelings he didn't know what to do. After a few moments of silence..

"Then, wanna go out Inoue?"

This time, it's Inoue's time to be shocked. Her cries momentarily stopped.

_Go out? With Kurosaki-kun? Is he serious? But_..

She looked at Ichigo's eyes, his sad eyes made all her doubts vanish "Yes!"

_It's okay, I'm gonna make him happy again.._

And that's how they started to date.

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After a year, on Ichigo's birthday, they felt her presence.

"Rukia.." Ichigo whispered, but loud enough for everybody who felt her. Most especially Inoue.

Not claiming any rights to the characters.

My first fanfic! There's definitely a next chap. If not for you then for myself!LOL!

I won't let Orihime be sad.. at the end at least.


	2. Chapter 2

I am so not Tite Kubo, I'm just borrowing his characters.

Anyway, I just want to say that the POV for this and the previous chap is from a third-person. Not Orihime's. Sorry if somebody got confused about it. 

Is this an Ichihime fic? I'm actually not too sure myself. Probably is. What I know for sure is that this ain't an Ichiruki. Sorry to disappoint Ichiruki fans. I'm a fan of all pairing with a hime at the end! Except for the yuri ones.. Catfights? Now that you mention it, it's actually not a bad idea! LOL! 

Just a word of warning. My mom told me I never finish whatever I started. Sometimes I agree…

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"You can go see her, you know.."

Ichigo turned around when he heard her voice. It seemed that she followed him when he went to the kitchen to grab something unimportant. He smiled at her.

"Come here.." Orihime walks in his embrace.

"Somehow, I know, you would say that Inoue… I won't go see her."

"You sure? She might be here for something important, Kurosaki-kun."

"Probably, then why don't we go see her tomorrow then?"

"Uhn! I'd love to see her too!"

"Then it's settled…"

"Yeah.."

Orihime felt a slight release. She was unconsciously stiff after she felt Rukia's reiatsu.

She felt so relieved that Ichigo seemed normal about it, that she felt like crying. In fact, it feels like something is blocking her throat. She doesn't wanna cry. Somehow, she wants to look strong, mature, and composed about this. Like how Rukia usually is.

"Are you worried?" Ichigo immediately regeretted blurting out this question. He realized how stupid the question is right after the regret.

"I can't help it, Kurosaki-kun. If I am a guy I'll probably like Kuchiki-san too. But the one I'll marry is Tatsuki-chan." She said this so seriously that Ichigo had to laugh. Seeing Ichigo laugh made Orihime smile and relax a bit more.

"It's true! How about you Kurosaki-kun? Who among the guys would you date if you're a girl?"

That question immediately put a sour expression on Ichigo's face. "None!"

"Eh?!? Are you being serious?! Look! Ishida-san is very good looking and compassionate, Sado-kun is well-built and dependable, and then there's Renji-kun who looks wild and hands…." Inoue has to stop for she noticed the expression her boyfriend is giving him which is quite scary.

"So those are the ones you'll date if I'm not here? Thanks for the info." Was Ichigo's reply with an expressionless yet deadly voice.

"You're misunderstanding me, Kurosaki-kun! I'm just.. giving.. choices." She looked down and was about to cry when Ichigo enfolded her in his arms and cradled her head on his shoulders.

"Sorry, I don't mean to freak you out."

"I don't think I can answer you're silly question though. Because right now, I'm very thankful that I'm a guy." Love welled on Orihime's chest and the tears she was holding back refused to hide any longer and she cried like a baby on Ichigo's embraced.

"Although if I'm a girl, I think I'll be something like Chizuru." Ichigo continues to make Orihime laugh, which she did, although it sounded more like a sob and a hiccup. Which Ichigo thought was cute, especially when it's done against his chest.

"Do you wanna stay here for tonight, Inoue?"

Inoue immediately stiffen at this suggestion and Ichigo realized what she might have thought of this. He chuckled.

"I don't mean it that way, really. I just thought that she might come by at night and I want you to be here when that happens."

"There's no need for that Kurosaki-kun. I trust you."

"Okay.. If you say so."

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"Kuro—saki-kun..?" was how she greeted him when he saw him at his front door on his way out, and the only thing that stopped her on her tracks was Rukia was at his tail.

She was numbed; she felt her face twitching into a smile. She wanna cry and laugh and hide at the same time. She felt a ton of emotions mixed together. Some of them she isn't even familiar with. "Kuchiki-san!" she croaked.

"Inoue!" was Rukia's warm greeting. Ichigo stood beside her, looks very green in the face. "We were just on our way to your house!"

_You are? I see._

"I haven't seen you guys in a while so I asked Ichigo to come with me and visit you guys."

_So it's Kuchiki-san's suggestion?_

"And then Ichigo, suggested we go see you first.

_He did?_

"Ah. Is that so Kuchiki-san? Do you plan on going somewhere else after my house?" She wanna hide somewhere. She felt like her question sounds too suspicious. She can't look Ichigo in the eye. In fact, she wants to look at anywhere else but him.

"Actually Inoue, although I'm glad to be able to see you all right now, I really have a purpose for being here. Not only me. A few more shinigamis would be coming here soon."

Terror filled her at the tone of Rukia's voice. She momentarily forgot about her jealousy and her face showed it. In an instant, Ichigo's at her side.

"It's nothing too serious Inoue. They just got some hunch. Sandals-and-hat and the mad scientist at soul society just coincidentally came up with the same….hunch." Ichigo tried to explain it in a way that wouldn't scare Orihime even more. His hands are unconsciously rubbing her shoulders. His face inches away from hers. His expression a combination of guilt and concern as Orihime finally looked him in the face.

Rukia was abit taken aback by the show of affection that is very out-of-character from the Ichigo she left behind. She doesn't know what to feel about it. Although she knows that that affection could've been for her, had she stayed.

Orihime's fear was successfully blocked by Ichigo, therefore jealousy went back up again. "There's no such thing as a coincidence, Kurosaki-kun." She was looking at him vindictively for a split second. And then her apology was written all over her face for the tone she used.

"That's what the soul society thinks too. Those two guys might have a few loose screws in the head but they're both revered leaders. If they say so, then we have to listen, for no one can prove them otherwise. Except each other, that is." Rukia explained without knowing how thankful Ichigo was for her breaking the silence and for not understanding the meaning behind Orihime's statement.

"Then what's this hunch about Kuchiki-san?"

"Both of them observed something weird about the atmosphere here in Karakura, They said that it almost felt like someone powerful is suppressing its reiatsu to leak. By someone powerful, I mean someone who might have a reiatsu as big as Ichigo."

"So I'm not being suspected of this?" Ichigo asked. "Good!"

"Of course no one would! You don't even know how to suppress your reiatsu to begin with!" was Rukia's reply.

"Huh?! Did you say something chibi-shinigami?!"

"Idiot! I'm talking to Inoue! Stop interfering!"

"Anyway Inoue, we are not sure what this persons motive is. It could be someone strong who's waiting for the right moment to strike, or it could be someone that's just trying to hide his powers, period! Anyway, multiplying Ichigo's abnormal reiatsu into two is a very dangerous matter in itself."

"You made it really sound like I'm a virus!"

"In a way you are. Moving on, that much reiatsu in one place might attract a lot of hollows or even worse someone a lot stronger. So you see, us being here is just a precaution. Nothing too serious, for now at least."

"For now?! Do you really intend to scare her?!"

"Annoying!" was what Rukia said before he gave Ichigo an uppercut.

Witnessing the scene, Inoue felt a bit left out, although Rukia was actually explaining to her. Or was it just her imagination?


	3. Chapter 3

When I started doing this, Im like "this is for me, I don't care if nobody liked it!"

And then when someone criticized me I feel like explaining myself.

And then when someone praised me, even just a few, I feel like continuing. Weird.

Anyway, while writing the emo part I'm listening to Hide and seek by Imogen heap.

So if it's too emo for you're taste, I'm officially blaming them. LOL!

Oh and I do not claim ownership for these characters.

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_It's warm.. really warm.. and moist.. and *cough cough*_

The smoke from the burning French toast with bean paste filling she's making for breakfast snapped her out of her day dream. She sighed as she hated wasting food, after an inner debate she decided to scrubbed the burnt crumbs off (well some of it) and eat it anyway.

"I can't afford to waste anymore food. Maybe I should get a job? Something that will let you sit and do your homework and crosswords. Hmm.. I'll probably look for one."

She spent the first couple of hours of the day talking to herself, cleaning the house and grooming. Whenever her mind goes back to the last words Ichigo told her last night, she'll jump and immediately, almost desperately, look for something to occupy herself before she go to school. Finally, after her shower she accidentally glanced at herself in the mirror.

_Eye bags. Probably from lack of sleep last night, and from crying.._

And then she remembers, but this time she can't brush it off. It's different when she can see her pained expression right in front of her. The expression in her eyes is pleading to its reflection.

_Please stop remembering._

But it can't be helped now. She closed her eyes as tightly as she could and the memories stabbed her. As she remembered Ichigo, Ichigo being so lively in an argument with Rukia, Ichigo being silly to piss Rukia off, Ichigo being smacked by Rukia and not fighting back, Ichigo not telling Rukia that he's Inoue's, Ichigo telling Inoue that Rukia would have to stay with them for the time being, Ichigo walking home with Rukia after walking her home.

And even though her eyes are tightly shut, tears overpowered her. Her sobs choked her.

_I love him. What kind of love do I have for him if I want to strip him of his happiness? What kind of feeling does he have for me if I'm left to feel like this?_

"Inoue? Inoue?" someone called from outside her doorstep.

She hurriedly wiped her tears and wished whoever it is wouldn't comment on her swollen eyes. It might trigger another bout of tears.

She opened the door and found Ishida outside. "Ishda-kun?"

Ishida fidgeted before he replied. "Inoue, I thought I'd walk you to school today."

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing really, I just heard from Urahara-san about the theory or should I say the hunch, he had, so I thought maybe you wanted someone to… since our Universities are not far from each other."

Inoue smiled. "Thank you, Ishida-kun."

"I hope you're not offended. I just haven't seen you using you're powers too much lately."

"I'm not offended at all. Why don't you come in first? I'm almost done preparing. I'll just grab some stuff and I'm ready to go."

"It's okay, I'll wait here. But don't let it bother you that I'm waiting for you okay? Or else you might forget something."

"Ehehehe! You're right! But I promise I'll be really quick! 5 minutes tops!" is what she said before she turned her back to Ishida to grab her stuff.

"5 minutes is nothing, Inoue. I've been waiting for you all this time." Ishida said this in a very quiet voice, half-hoping she'll hear it, half-hoping she won't. But she did.

And she spent around 2 minutes looking for her stuff through her tears, and a few minutes wiping her tears and making it stop. By the time she finished to greet Ishida again her eyes are red but he didn't say anything. She can't look Ishida in the eyes. If she did she would have seen longing written all over it.

Ishida's arms are aching as they walk. He wants to hug and comfort her, for he knows although he triggered her tears, they are not for him.

"Inoue? Doesn't Kurosaki ever walk you to school?"

"He does if I have school on Saturdays. He usually go to school earlier than I do so.. But it's not like we have a promise that he'll walk me to school everyday"

"Ah.." Ishida responded with a voice that implies that he doesn't agree.

"If it becomes too painful, please know you do not deserve it."

Inoue stopped and hugged her binder tightly in front of her.

"It is too painful! You know what Ishida-kun? I've always believed that after a suffering there will always be a reward by the end of it. So I wanna hurry up and get to the reward. Maybe it's the one I really wanted. I wanna pass-forward my life… But then again I don't wanna miss a moment with Kurosaki-kun. Even if it's painful."

"Sorry, Ishida-kun."

"What are you apologizing for? I know since we were high school that you're crazy about him. I just let you love him, until you became his girlfriend."

Ishida took hold of her chin and raised her face so she couldn't avoid looking at his eyes. Ishida's face tells her his grief, his regret. "You see Inoue, I've been meaning to steal you away right from the start."

Inoue lightly touched the hand of Ishida that's holding her chin. No longer trying to hide the tears that are flowing. No longer ashamed of them. The guy in front of her deserved the truth. "Why Ishida-kun? Why do you say the things I wanted to hear from him? You deserved someone who loves you. Someone who will make you smile. If I accept you're feelings, then pretty soon you'd be crying for the reasons that I am crying right now. I don't want to see you like this."

"What do you think you're doing!?!" Ichigo's voice boomed. He looked from Ishida to Inoue to Ishida again. And then like a bull, he charged towards Ishida grabbing his collar and slamming him at the wall. "Don't you touch my girlfriend! I'll fucking kill you!"


End file.
